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Lando Norris said McLaren’s pace was “easily good enough” to fight for a Belgian Grand Prix podium after finishing seventh. Norris said: "It should have been a lot better today, honestly. The pace was easily good enough for a potential podium. I mean, we just had a terrible pit stop. We were unlucky with the VSCs as well."
Kimi Antonelli says he “reached rock bottom” at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix and could not have imagined being in his current position 12 months later, after winning at Spa on Sunday for Mercedes to extend his lead in the drivers’ championship. Antonelli said: "No, absolutely not. Last year here, I probably reached the bottom, so it was a very difficult weekend for me mentally. But this year was definitely a lot better. If you had asked me last year at this moment, I probably would have said no."
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says George Russell’s lap-one retirement at the Belgian Grand Prix was “100%” Mercedes’ fault after a power issue left him vulnerable before contact with Lewis Hamilton. Toto Wolff said: "It's two situations here. First is the racing, the accident that happened. It was unfortunate for us, we lost a lot of constructors' points and George [lost] drivers' points. And then we had an issue with all Mercedes engines, where we lacked power on the straight. And that bit him badly. It 100% goes on us."
Isack Hadjar said his charge from 21st on the grid to sixth in the Belgian Grand Prix was “probably my best race” for Red Bull. Hadjar said: "Today I think is probably my best race. Race pace-wise. I'm right up there with the leaders, so I'm very glad with my first ten races. To be honest, I'm really looking forward to the race, because there are a lot of things we need to tidy up as a team – in a good way. I think there's a lot more to come."
Max Verstappen said he held his line on the Kemmel straight because moving could have caused an “aeroplane shunt” after he ran out of battery in the opening stages of the Belgian Grand Prix. Verstappen said: "Yeah well clearly too much deployment from Turn 1 to Turn 2. Then I went through Eau Rouge, I looked at my battery status like 'well that's going to be a difficult run to Les Combes!' I expected, of course, Kimi to come by and then I look in my mirror and I just saw a red rocket coming. I was like 'oh I'll just hold my line because if I move here we're gonna have an aeroplane shunt'!"
Liam Lawson said Racing Bulls were “way too slow” in the Belgian Grand Prix, with energy-saving measures and suspected power unit issues leaving him vulnerable to what he called “accidental” overtakes as he dropped from ninth on the grid to 12th at Spa. Lawson said: "We were way too slow, all race, and it was apparent pretty quickly as well. We had some issues with the PU and trying to optimise it, but with a track like this, you have no idea, there is so much lap-time in where you are using your energy. We were trying to save energy through Eau Rouge down towards Turn 5 - Les Combes -, but we were losing so much time that people were accidentally overtaking me."
Oscar Piastri says the battery deployment under Formula 1’s 2026 power-unit rules is making qualifying feel like it is being decided by computers, calling it “a pretty crap way of going racing” after drivers raised concerns about straight-line speed at Spa. Piastri said: "It sucks. I can't really say it any other way than that. When you've got qualifying grids decided by computers behaving or misbehaving, it's a pretty crap way of going racing."
Lewis Hamilton said his “heart really sank” when his Ferrari hit a mechanic during a pit stop at the Belgian Grand Prix, but he was relieved the crew member was unhurt after stewards fined the team €30,000. Hamilton said: "The green light went and so I went. You're looking over here [to the left at the lights] you're not looking over there so that's more probably on the team, ultimately. But when it happened, then I noticed him and I stopped and it just went through my mind in that moment was back when Kimi hit and broke a leg and my heart really sank for a second."
Lewis Hamilton says his opening-lap collision with George Russell at the Belgian Grand Prix was “a racing incident”, despite the Ferrari driver being given a five-second penalty after Russell retired from the race. Hamilton said: "Ultimately, sorry for George because that obviously ended his race, but I did think… I do agree that it was a racing incident. It's not like I went in aggressive and was misplaced or anything like that. I think it was just an unfortunate scenario, which happens in racing. Then I had damage as well, so I carried that through the race. It was a tough one."
Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies said the team have made their car “stronger and stronger” and believes they can fight for podiums “pretty much at every circuit” after Max Verstappen finished third and Isack Hadjar climbed to sixth at the Belgian Grand Prix. Mekies said: "First, it is a very strong result for everyone back at [the factory in] Milton Keynes who has worked so hard to get the car stronger and stronger. We have made a step forward after Austria and it was a bit more of a difficult weekend in Silverstone, and here we have confirmed that we can fight for podiums pretty much at every circuit. The last bit to get is the most difficult, and Kimi had still a sizeable advantage."
Oscar Piastri said Charles Leclerc should at least have been shown a black-and-white flag after their lap-eight collision while battling for third at the Belgian Grand Prix, which stewards decided required no action. Piastri said: "From where I was at, I was on the white line and got squeezed. I don't really know where I was supposed to go, so the fact that was no... I'm not saying it needed to be a penalty necessarily, but at least a black-and-white flag or something like that, because if we think that that's fine… even just the incentive of knowing that you can leave everyone the absolute bare minimum space and get away with it, that's not the nicest place to be."
Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur said Lewis Hamilton’s five-second penalty for his opening-lap collision with George Russell at the Belgian Grand Prix was “mega harsh”. Vasseur said: "I think it's mega harsh. If you have a look on the corner, Russell had enough space on the left-hand side, it's not that he was close to the wall. I think it's more a racing incident for me and this cost us a lot."
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said the team were not expecting to be so competitive at Spa-Francorchamps after Charles Leclerc finished second in the Belgian Grand Prix and Lewis Hamilton took fourth. Vasseur said: "I think overall, it's a very strong result for the team. We were not expecting this kind of result at Silverstone and Spa due to the layout of the track. We did a good job with execution, good strategy, good pit stop. I think on the chassis side we are doing a strong job, we are bringing upgrades. It's paying off, small steps but small step by small step, we are catching up."
Charles Leclerc says he has made a step forward after finishing second at the Belgian Grand Prix for his second consecutive podium. Leclerc said: "I'm confident in saying that I made a step forward. Whether I'm at the level where I want to perform, not yet. There are still things in the car that I need to drive around. I cannot drive completely naturally, and that is slowing me down in some parts of the race. So, there are still things that I've got to work on in order to be better. But surely it was a step forward, and for that I'm happy."
Max Verstappen said Formula 1’s 2026 energy-deployment can make racing “a jungle” after the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa. Verstappen said: "Yeah, welcome to F1 2026, sometimes it can be a jungle."
Toto Wolff says all Mercedes-powered cars were down on straight-line power during the Belgian Grand Prix, and admitted it was a team mistake that badly affected George Russell. Wolff said: "We had an issue on all Mercedes engines that we lacked the power out on the straights. That bit him [Russell] badly and it goes one-hundred-percent on us. We're trying our best as a team. We have the most powerful power unit – we have a strong car that is capable of winning. Everybody gives their maximum to minimise their mistakes and still it happens – because we are humans at work."
Toto Wolff says Mercedes are pushing hard but that “sometimes our best is not good enough” after a bittersweet Belgian Grand Prix in which Kimi Antonelli won and George Russell retired. Wolff said: "We're trying to give it our best and sometimes our best is not good enough. Sometimes it is good enough, but one thing is we are all pushing extra hard."
Lando Norris says he had the pace to win the Belgian Grand Prix but felt a 10-place grid drop for new power unit components, poorly timed virtual safety car periods and a slow pit stop left his race “incredibly tough”. Norris said: "I don't think we could have made our race any more difficult today. The pace was good enough for a podium or even to win. So it's a shame that we couldn't try and achieve that."
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